KAT
by ToriTeaTurtle
Summary: Introduction Story for Gotham's Newest Rouge, Katherine Tailer OC , set during Batman TAS and before Harley Quinn first comes to Arkham. Involves most of the rouges gallery, as well as the Batman. Rated T for mild language I guess.
1. Evolution

Katherine Annabelle Tailer was never an ordinary girl. Always teased by her classmates for caring more about animals than people. The only other person like her had been her life long friend David but even he had failed her know.

She lay there on the floor of her laboratory surrounded by shattered glass and chemicals. There were voices but they were distant. She couldn't explain what had happened or what she was feeling it wasn't anger or sorrow, it wasn't an emotion. She was tingling all over, especially her ears and the bottom of her back. Odd. Katherine turned her head to see where the faint voices were coming from. Crap. The police.

'_Police, why is it always the police?'_

None of them were looking at her, she could easily slip away.

Slowly she moved her body away from the officers. Quietly, carefully she made it to the back entrance. It hadn't been far away and, thankfully, no one had noticed. Katherine rose to her feet and slowly turned the door knob, frequently looking behind her to check if anyone had spotted her. No one had. The door swung open and Katherine bolted out quicker than she had ever run before, not stopping.

'_Don't stop,' _she told herself. '_Don't look back just keep running.'_

She turned into an alley way her body still tingling, except now her ears were beginning to sting and her backside was aching. Stopping, Katherine found a small space where she could curl up for the night. The strange thing was she could still see, better than usual. Her head was spinning but as soon as she closed her eyes sleep came over her quickly.

Katherine's dreams were full of terrible images that night. The flying rodent almost killing her. Her best friend abandoning her and the syringes, what had she done with them?

She woke with a start. Still dark it had only been a few hours.

It all came flooding back to her. The Bat. David. Her experiments. The needles…

Katherine's fingers touched her arm. She flinched, it was sore to the touch. She had injected herself with the altered DNA. Her fingers travelled to her ears, they had hurt last night.

"Oh my god," Katherine whispered to herself.

Her ears were a little bigger than usual, pointed and … furry? Like a cats. Next her hands moved down to where it had hurt most, her rear,

"Holy crap!"

She had a tail.

A large smile spread across her face, it had worked! Almost, did they work? Or were they just physical?

She tried to move her tail, she could but only just, it was still painful. It must still be growing. Next she sat down and listened. Traffic, people talking, rats. But then it struck her, the direction the noise was coming from. Rats. Quietly going about there business. In the next alley way. Impossible. Katherine sniffed, she could smell the rats too. Her grin widened, it had worked. Completely, it had worked! All the research, illegal testing, having to move country to avoid the law, all had been worth it.

Katherine's ears began to swivel, no. It can't be him. The stupid flying rodent. He had ruined her plans and now he was hunting her down. She ran. Suddenly, looming up in front of her was a wall, she couldn't do anything, she panicked, she jumped. Now like a cat she was pouncing up the wall, over the wall.

Still running not tired, running on adrenaline, she began to head instinctively towards her laboratory. The back entrance was still open.

'_Thank you!'_ her child like grin returning.

Her pace slowed and silently she began to walk in the shadows. She had to get her research noted, she just _had _to. She had worked too long and too hard not to at least have the chemical equation for the working chemical.

Glancing through the open door, it was shadowed but someone was there. But she had to rick it. For science.

She began into the lab crouching almost on all fours. Finally she made it to her desk on the other side of the laboratory and straightened up. Her tail flicked eagerly from side to side as she licked through the papers… where were they? They weren't here not the correct ones, she breathed in deeply. Bat. All she could smell was that god forsaken man in a bat suit! Again her ears began to swivel, there was someone behind her. Fast as lightening she spun around, ready to attack. It was the Bat. She threw the papers she still had in his hand to distract him. Jumping over his head she kicked him in the back. Knocking him over into the table, his head hitting it with a horrible thud. And he lay there unconscious. Katherine's childish grin appeared once more.


	2. Do Cats Eat Bats

Batman groaned his head ached from where he had hit it on the desk. His eyes opened…where was he? He shook his head to clear his thoughts. He looked up and saw a woman with auburn hair with odd black streaks through it. With cat's ears and a tail. She looked liked a half human ginger tabby.

Katherine turned around from her tray of surgical tools and syringes filled with the chemical that changed Katherine into what she now was. It seemed fair that she would be doing this to him, it was his fault.

She had a manic grin on her face, she hated to admit it but she had begun to find this fun. Her test subjects would squirm. A mouse trapped in a cat's claws. Or a bat trapped. But he wasn't squirming or trying to escape, he didn't even smell of fear, not one bit.

"Katherine you don't have to do this." Batman said.

Katherine snarled and went to slap Batman to shut him up, but instead ended up scratching his face. She lifted her hand to inspect her nails, earlier they had been short and blunt but now they were long and sharp. More reactions with the chemicals that now flowed through her veins.

"Intriguing," she smirked. Her eyes the snapped back to them man strapped to the test chair. "You don't know what I've had to do, you don't even know me. It's Kat not Katherine but to you…" Her tail flicked from side to side violently. "It's Animi."

Katherine sniffed the air…fear? None. She smirked, that could change. Kat turned back to her array of needles and surgical tools.

"I didn't men for any of them to die Bat, they just weren't strong enough. But you are a different case. Well developed brain, strong muscular build an excellent test subject in my personal opinion." Kat called over her shoulder as she selected the right syringe for Batman's build, and the correct scalpel to cut through the fabric on his forearm.

Turning back to this mystery man in the cape and cowl she advanced on him. She grabbed his arm and proceeded to pull at the fabric trying to stretch it so she could begin to cut it with the scalpel. His pulse was increasing she could hear his heart rate getting faster, she could smell his scent changing to worry. Kat smirked and proceeded to cut through the fabric.

'_I have to get out of here, who knows how the chemicals would react with my body?' _Batman thought frantically as Kat began to cut through the fabric on his forearm. '_How long would it take until any changes were permanent? How long would it to make an antidote?' _But what could he do? His arms were strapped firmly to the chair… but his legs weren't…

Kat cut through the last fibre of the cloth. She turned and smiled at Batman.

"This won't hurt." She grinned.

"But this will!" replied Batman

"What?" exclaimed Kat.

Suddenly there was a sharp pain in Kat's shins making her jump back and become unbalanced. She dropped the scalpel and fell forward as she tried to retrieve it from Batman's grasp.

"That was a cheap shot," groaned Kat.

Batman kicked her again, right to the ground and proceeded to saw through the belts strapping him to the chair with the scalpel.

Kat lay there on the floor of her laboratory with bruised shins and a splitting head ache as the Bat freed himself. She tried to get up but the rest of her body refused. She could already hear the police sirens coming this way. She'd lost. The Bat cut through the belts and stood up, looking down on Kat.

"You've ruined me Bat," Kat spat. "And I'll get you for it, someday."

Batman stooped down and hand cuffed her to the chair she had strapped him to. He left a small note beside her and swept out of the room right before the police burst in. she turned to read the note. All she could read of it was who it was addressed too. 'Commissioner Gordon' '_interesting' _she thought to herself as she was hauled to her feet. It all happened so fast after that. She was unhand-cuffed and thrown in the back of a big white police van. She wasn't told where she was going or what was going to happen to her. Only 3 months in Gotham and this. No one would tell her what was going on. No one would even look at her. She sat down in the back of the police van.

"I'm a freak." She whispered to herself and then she drew her tail around herself for heat. "Just a freak."


	3. Home Sweet Arkham

The white van stopped, the back doors swung open to reveal three men. One of them in a white coat. He had a cheery smile but his scent told Kat he was scared of her.

"Welcome to Arkham Asylum Miss Tailer…" he smiled glancing down at the piece of paper in his hand, the one the Bat left.

"It Doctor, Dr. Tailer," snarled Kat.

The man in the white coat looked shocked, "um… Dr. Tailer then…I'm Doctor Logan I will be your Doctor here during your stay."

Kat was silent

"Do you know why you're here?" inquired Dr. Logan

"Well quite obviously you and the rest of society seem to think I'm insane." challenged in a sarcastic manner.

Dr. Logan took this all in his stride he must have been used to this sort of behaviour.

"You are ill Dr, Tailer and you have quite serious charges against you name."

"So you're saying I'm a nut job." Kat grew tired of this game, this Dr. Logan was treating her like a child.

"No, you are simply here to get better, if you would like to come with me we'll get you into some clean clothes and show you to your room."

He was making it sound like she was at a hotel, she hated it. She was in an insane asylum but he was sugar coating it, she couldn't make a fuss around this man her dignity would suffer if she did.

The two other men clambered into the van and began to gently pull her out. The police officers then slammed the doors of the van shut. Kat gave out an ear piercing yowl.

"Hey! Watch the tail! It's not fake you know!" growled Kat.

Her tail was clamped in between the van doors. Quickly one of the policemen opened the doors and released her tail, but over her should Kat could see a smirk on the officer's face.

"Asshole," breathed Kat and the orderlies marched her into her new home.

They walked through the front doors and Kat was a little surprised by the state of the place, it wasn't dazzlingly bright white like you would expect a mental hospital to be but instead was quite dark and rather dingy.

'_Well when you see the rest of Gotham you kind of expect something like this,'_ Kat silently shrugged to herself. The area where she had been living had been a dump, crime wasn't an odd occurrence in Gotham which meant that her robberies hadn't been a big media scandal, some had picked up on it though… probably because of the mask and calling card she left.

As they approached the front desk Dr. Logan stopped walking.

"This is where I leave you. Your first mental evaluation will be with me tomorrow morning. Warden Quincy Sharp may also be attending." He then handed a clip board to one of the two men leading Kat. "Cell 516." He told them.

They started walking again, towards to large, metal doors with the title 'High Security'.

"This is nuts," mumbled Kat. "I don't belong here."

"Sure ya don't," The larger of the two orderlies chuckled slyly at her.

"Listen to me! I was making them better. They just weren't strong enough and they tried to resist the change! It was they're own faults they ended up dead!" Kat was becoming desperate, she wasn't afraid to fight back now. Dr. Logan wasn't here, she didn't need her pride. This wasn't a sugar coated lie, this was a sour truth.

"You're here because you're insane, got it? Now shut up!" he growled at her.

They shoved her into a small cubicle and slammed the door shut.

"Get changed." He ordered her.

"Into what?" she replied.

"The change of clothes idiot." This came from the smaller one.

"I'm not an idiot, I have a degree in veterinarian science." Snarled Kat.

"Fat lot of good that did ya!" again the smaller one yelled this through the closed door.

Kat turned away from the door and sure enough sitting there was a pair of light blue trousers and a matching shirt. Reluctantly she took off her t-shirt and jeans and pulled on the Arkham uniform. As she inspected herself she discovered a small white patch of white over her left breast. Looking closer at it, it was a label, for her.

It stated;

[Arkham Asylum ]

[Patient No. 4480 ]

[Katherine A. Tailer]

'_So this is what I'm reduced to…a number.'_

She turned to the door and banged on it twice.

"Can I come out now? I've changed" she yelled

The door opened and Kat was lead out again through a corridor lined with cells that had one glass wall facing outwards so that the doctors could see in.

"I don't belong here!" she yelled again, she was beginning to become manic. "Let me go!" trying to pull away from the orderlies but they were too strong and she too tired and bruised to try for long.

510, 512, 514 passing cellsthat weren't hers. Soon it would be too late she had to try again, she had to get out of here.

"Let me go I'm not insane!"

The ruckus of her pulling away from the orderlies kicking and yelling seemed to stir the patient in Cell 517 who was too be her neighbour. Their figure moved in their bed. Kat was suddenly shoved into her cell. Before she could turn again the door was slammed. She had to hit something just to get the anger out of her system. She looked up, a solitary light bulb hanging by a thread. She slashed at it and it shattered into hundreds of pieces that showered down on her head, killing all the light in her cell. Except for a small strip near the glass wall from the light in the corridor.

"That's quite a temper you've got there," a voice giggled behind her.


	4. New Neighbours, New Friends?

Kat spun around on her heel shaking her head to get rid of the glass.

"Who are you?" asked Kat suspiciously

"Well who are you?" replied the voice mockingly.

"I asked first." Smirked Kat, she liked the sound of this guy even his voice made her smile.

He laughed manically. "I like you kid." He stepped out of the slightly shaded corner he been standing in. "They call me The Joker."

The man standing in the cell opposite her had pale white skin, green hair and ruby red lips which curled into a grand smile.

"Really?" Kat was sceptical about the man's name but he just smiled and nodded. Kat believed him. Her acute hearing couldn't hear his heart beat speed up as anyone who was lying would.

"My name is Katherine but friends call me Kat." She smiled back at the Joker.

"Come into the light Kat," Joker said. "I can't see you."

"No!" Kat yelled suddenly, making her hands shot over her mouth.

Joker seemed shocked at this out burst, his face said it all. His smile faltered slightly and his eyes widened.

"I can't," Kat quickly explained. "I'm nothing but a freak."

"I wouldn't say that," grinned Joker. "Look at me skin white as milk and now natural green hair. You can't be worse than me."

Reassured by this friendly stranger, Kat dared a step into the small strip of light coming from the glass wall of her cell. Staring at her feet she asked him, "Well?"

"Well…you don't look half bad! Just some cat ears and a tail. In fact kinda suits you! Not many people can pull it off a tail." He grinned at her.

Kat listened closely for a minute, no change in heart rate, he was being honest.

Kat giggled and blushed, then looked thoughtful for a minute. "Hey would you mind very much if I were to call you Chuckles?" inquired Kat.

"Can I ask why?" smiled Joker

"Because you're a funny guy, you make me…well…chuckle." Kat smiled bashfully.

"You know what kid I like you. You can call me anything you like." Joker begun to laugh wildly again.

Kat smiled and then yawned, it was late… or early, it was around 3 am and she was knackered. "Well good night Chuckles." Her smile was tired as she made her way over to the hard mattress and got under the scratchy sheets.

"Good night Kat sweet dreams." Giggled Joker and soon the silence of an insane mans sleep filled the High Security ward.


	5. It's A Start

A siren blared at 7 am exactly waking Kat up with a start and ear ache.

Turning over in her bed Kat started to mumble to herself, "What time is it?"

"Well Kat it's 7am, the early bird catches the worm you know." Chuckled Joker

"Cats' hunt at night." Growled Kat sitting up on hard bed, "But still good morning Chuckles." She continued in a cheerier tone.

"Good morning to you to Kat plans for today?" smile Joker.

"Well Dr. Logan said I would be seeing him today and someone called something Sharp would be there too…" Kat scratched her head as she tried to recall what Dr. sugar-coat-it had said last night.

"Sharpey boy!" the Joker suddenly yelled.

"Um…yeah. Do you know him?" asked Kat.

"Yeah! He's the top dog here, always goes to the first therapy session…"

"Shut up!" Kat hissed suddenly at the Joker, her ears pricked. 'Someone's coming' she mouthed at him.

'Oh' he mouthed back while nodding his head slowly.

A few minutes later a young orderly walked up to Kat's cell and leaned against the glass if Joker's cell.

"Come on _Doctor _Tailer, time for your first therapy session." Mocked the young orderly.

"I didn't know you were a doctor Kat!" smiled Joker, "Did you know that Kurty boy?" Kat smirked, Joker was toying with 'Kurty boy' but he orderly was having one of the Joker's games. His fist slammed against the Joker's glass.

"Shut it Clown!" yelled the young orderly.

Something inside Kat suddenly snapped. Nobody threatens her friends. Still in the shadows she spoke.

"Leave him alone." She snarled in a voice that seemed different from her own. It was rough and vicious. As if an angry tiger was growling instead of this Irish girl in her mid-twenties.

"Excuse me?" Kurtis the orderly stopped leaning on the glass and began to make his way across to the glass wall of Kat's cell in a condescending manor.

"I said leave him alone." Kat snarled again. She could fell her nails growing into long sharp claws; her tail was lashing from side to side. She ran her tongue along her teeth; her canines had grown into lengthy pointed fangs. She had felt them begin to grow once Kurtis' fist had hit the glass.

"And what are you going to about it?" Kurtis teased.

Kat lunged at the glass wall that separated herself from this young thug.

"I _will_ get out of here and when I do I _will _kill you." She lashed out at the glass. Her claws scratched down the think glass cutting half way through it. Kurtis took a step back, his heart was pounding against his ribs, this had never happened before. Kat took a deep breath she could smell him – fear, he stank of fear. "So get out of here!" She slammed her fist again the glass and a large crack appeared through her claw marks. "Go on! On you bike mate!" she yelled.

Kurtis turned tail and sprinted, Kat glaring at him until she could see him no more a smug smile painted on her face. She looked back to the Joker as he stood mouth slightly open but it wasn't long before his smile crept back onto his face.

"I like you more and more every hour," he smiled.

"Ditto!" Kat gave him a childish grin knowing she had made a friend. "Hey hang on," she silenced the Joker with a flick of her tail and a twitch of her ear. She could here the thump, thump, thump of heavy footed orderlies making their way to cell 516. "I think I may have rattled the orderlies' cage." Kat smiled innocently as to brutish orderlies opened the locked door of her cell and proceeded to drag her out.

"I'll save a spot for you at the Rec. Room." Called Joker as she was marched down the familiar corridor to the office area.

"Thanks Chuckles! I'll see you later then!" Kat called over her shoulder giggling as she was marched towards her first therapy session.


	6. So This is Therapy

The orderly rapt the door of Dr. Damien Logan's office three time. "Come in," his voice was irritatingly chipper for someone who worked in a mental home for the criminally insane, especially for someone first thing in the morning. Kat was not looking forward to this; in fact she was dreading it as they opened the door. "Ah Doctor Tailer. Good to see you please, come, take a seat." He gestured to the seat in front of his desk.

Kat shock herself out of the grasp of the orderlies and stepped forward. She sat down and she heard a slight whirring noise in the corner. She glanced over to see a small tape recorder and a microphone sitting in between herself and Doctor Logan. "Is that compulsory?" she asked pointing at the recording equipment.

"Hmm? Ah yes that, it's so I can listen to our session later," he dismissed her quietly. "It's nothing really, sit"

Kat sat down in the small chair, thinking to herself as Dr. Logan finished what he was writing. '_Did he just dismiss like some annoying child. Unbelievable, I'll have to see what he'd say if he saw me when I'm not in an Asylum.' _She laughed to herself, she'd have to do that when she got out of here…Suddenly there was a knock at the door, her ears and nose twitched with curiosity. The door opened to reveal a stout, bald man in a sharp suit.

"Ah, Warden Sharp, good morning." Dr. Logan stood and offered him her hand.

Quincy took the hand and shook it quickly, "Good morning Dr. Logan and this must be our newest patient." He said to Dr. Logan turning to Kat. "Good morning and how are you today?" Quincy Sharp spoke to Kat loudly and slowly.

Kat smirked up at him and mocked his tone, "I'm fine how are you?" he glared down at Kat she matched his stare with unusually dark eyes. He turned away and sat in the corner.

"Just carry on," he sniffed sharply as he sat down into the chair.

'_Sharp by name, sharp by nature.' _Kat smirked to herself.

"Ok then." Dr. Logan coughed nervously as he took his seat again. "Dr. Tailer since you're not a citizen of the US and you are technically an illegal immigrant we cannot do a background check on you for some basic information before we begin your first mental evaluation. Please answer truthfully, alright?" He readied his pen and clip board.

Kat nodded, "Fair enough, go ahead."

"Full name," Dr. Logan began his interrogation

"Katherine Annabelle Tailer." She replied.

"And how old are you?" He scribbled on the page.

"Shouldn't you buy me a drink first?" Kat giggled.

"Doctor Tailer." He looked at her sternly.

"Sorry, sorry," She was still giggling slightly. "I'm 27"

"Really?" He looked at her disbelievingly, she didn't look as young as 27.

"I know I'm younger than I look, it's the eyes, they make me look older." Kat gestured towards her dark brown, almond shaped eyes. They reminded Dr. Logan of a wolf's eyes.

"Yes well, where are you from?" He continued.

"Northern Ireland." Kat stated.

"So your nationality is Irish?" he questioned.

"No," she shook her head. "I'm both British and Irish."

"What?" Dr. Logan looked at her in a quizzical manor.

"It's a long story entitled 'The Troubles' please continue." Kat was sharp, not wanting to talk about where she came from.

"Ok…date of birth?"

"19th of June."

"Any allergies or medical conditions?"

"Not that I know of, fit as a fiddle."

"Alrighty then! That's that over with so, how was your first night here at Arkham?" He grinned as he put down his clipboard and pen.

"Well, where do I start?" She grinned back at Dr. Logan childishly, and took a deep breath. "The orderlies are mean, the bed is uncomfortable, the sheets are scratchy and the mattress is as hard as a rock, my cell smells funny, I have earache from the siren this morning, there is no light bulb in my cell," she stopped to giggle at the last one. "Oh, and my feet are cold." She grabbed her leg and pulled one of her bare feet on to Dr. Logan's desk.

"I see, well we'll try to fix some of that." He nodded slowly.

"Oh no it's fine," she smiled. "I can handle the orderlies, I'm used to an uncomfortable, I'm sure I'll get used to the smell, I've got a high pain threshold, I like my feet to be cold and the light bulb," she chuckled. "Was kind of my fault, besides I like the dark."

"Well then Dr. Tailer, why don't you tell us a bit about your childhood?" Dr. Logan glanced at Warden Sharp in the corner, clearly nervous that his boss was in the room.

'_Childhood? Why is it always the childhood with these people?' _ She shrugged, "What would you like to know?"

"Why don't we start with your earliest memory?" Dr. Logan moved the microphone closer to Kat.

Kat gulped, she hated talking about her past, and it made her slightly homesick. '_OK, here goes.'_

Two hours later they were still talking about her childhood. Kat had told Dr. Logan her earliest memory of being put in a tin bath by her older brother with her uncle's puppies when she had been visiting her extended family in Australia. She told him about her mum and dad and how supportive they had been about her being a vet, how they knew nothing about the experiments.

"And I suppose you want to know about my school life and friends too, don't you?" Kat's voice was obviously bored.

"If you wouldn't mind telling us," Dr. Logan was smiling oblivious to her boredom. "Then very well."

"Well in Primary school I made a friend called David," her voice dripped with disgust as she mentioned his name. "And when I was with him, I couldn't hear the hurtful things others would've said about me. I was bullied as a child you see; I've only had two friends in my entire life. David and the man in the cell opposite mine." Kat smiled cheekily as the colour drained from Dr. Logan's face. She sniffed, the scent of fear slowly filled the air as they began to realise who was in the cell opposite Kat's. Warden Sharp shifted nervously in his chair. '_Damn Chuckles is well known!'_

"S...so," Dr. Logan stuttered after a few moments of silence. "The Joker is your friend?"

"Um…yeah, is that a problem?" She had basically been living under a rock for the last 3 months absorbed by her work, she knew nothing about the Joker.

"No, no! So" Dr. Logan spluttered onwards. "You were saying?"

"Ah yes! About school, well everything was fine until I went to secondary school. I went to a different school from David you see and on the 3rd or 4th day at the school the boys in my class were playing tennis and a little kitten was on the court," she swallowed as she remembered the day that changed how she thought of people and the little ginger kitten. "To get it off the court they kicked it, _hard_. Of course, as any compassionate being would, I ran over to see if the kitten was alright and its leg was broken. That broke my temper. I went over to the boy who had kicked that poor defenceless kitten and I kicked him. I kicked him until he was nothing but a snivelling wreck on the ground. Or at least that's what I was told. I actually blacked out," Kat finished her tale staring at the desk.

"So have you always had a short temper?" Dr. Logan looked interested.

"Not really, just when it comes to people mistreating animals and my friends." She smiled calmly as her tail tapped rhythmically on the chair. "But as I was saying it was on that day I decided I would help animals, speak for them, fight for them. I just didn't know how then, but I was smart and I had time. I found comfort from the bullying in my books, books where anything could happen say for instance 'Alice in Wonderland' and my studies. By the time I was 15 I was reading medical journals considering the concept of the configuration of DNA. Every year I was getting smarter and closer to my goal."

"Which was?" pressed Dr. Logan.

"To help the animals. You see I could make people understand how brilliant animals were if they were like animals. So I could make them see by _making _them like animals." Kat explained. "But, until a few years ago, I was scared to use human test subjects."

"And what exactly changed that opinion?" Dr. Logan leaned forward, his brow knitted.

"What was it?" Kat repeated to herself, "Well it was…" she trailed off as she remembered the pain, it still hurt to talk about him.

"Was…what?" pushed Dr. Logan.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing." She said quickly as she wiped a solitary tear out of her eye.

"Well surely it must have been something." A finger stroked his bearded chin in a perplexed manor.

"Really it was just a bad day…" Kat brushed off the questions. She was beginning to become really annoyed by this doctor, why couldn't he take no for an answer?

"Are you sure?" He said in an odd tone.

"Entirely." Kat bluntly stated

"Really?" Dr. Logan sounded like an annoying child

"Yes." Her voice was dripping with totally and utter loathing and agitation.

"It just seemed like you had something to say on the mat-" He began.

"IT WAS NOTHING!" Kat temper suddenly ran out. "I SAID NOTHING SO QUITE OBVIOUSLY IT WAS NOTHING! HAVE YOU GOT A PROBLEM DOC? OR DO I HAVE TO SPELL IT OUT FOR YA? N-O-T-H-I-N-G! WHAT PART DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND THE NO? OR THE THING?" She finished breathing heavily, towering over Dr. Logan. During her fit of temporary rage her chair had ended up beside Warden Sharp in the corner. "I-I'm sorry." She mumbled going to retrieve the chair. "W-what just happened?" she sat back down a look of total confusion on her face.

"You mean you don't remember any of that?" Dr. Logan was taken aback by this but all the time getting a full view of her mental state.

"No…all I remember is you repeatedly asking me an annoying question." Kat looked at Dr. Logan innocently.

"Hmmm… that's very interesting," he nodded to himself mulling over all the facts. Suddenly Quincy Sharp coughed over in the corner and tapped his wrist vigorously. Dr. Logan checked his wrist watch, nearly 10:00. "I'm afraid, Dr. Tailer, that's all we have time for today but I must inform you now that you are to attend court tomorrow morning at this time tomorrow, alright?" Dr. Logan told Kat.

Kat nodded, "That makes sense, so where will I be going now?"

"Well the orderlies will escort you back to your cell and then at noon you will join the rest of the inmates in the mess hall for lunch, ok?" He informed Kat.

Kat nodded and fixed him with a hard stare, '_I still don't like you…' _She told him silently through the stare.

He pressed the button signalling the orderlies as Quincy Sharp stood up and smoothed out his suit. The warden nodded a good bye to Dr. Logan and looked at Kat in a way that could only be described as total disgust. Warden Sharp opened the door and walked through before two orderlies came in and took up either side of Kat. As she was lead out the door she heard Dr. Logan begin to state notes into the microphone, "The patient shows signs of multiple personality disorder," Kat didn't hear the end as the door was closed over before she could hear the full mental evaluation.

As she was lead down the dim hallways towards 'Cell 516' she replayed the little of the mental evaluation she had heard, '_Multiple personality disorder…makes sense I guess. Explains why sometimes I'm nice and other times I'm violent.'_ They were approaching the cell she glanced over to the Joker's cell, he wasn't there… _'He must be at therapy…_' Kat thought to herself as she was shoved into her cell.

She opened her jaws wide and yawned like a lion. It may be before noon but she had had a restless nights sleep here; maybe she could have a nap. Quickly she straightened the sheet on her cot before collapsing onto it and, curling up, she promptly fell into a delightful sleep.


	7. Cats Can Do It Better

Kat woke with a start as someone hit the cracked glass wall repeatedly. Kat looked up through bleary eyes at the perpetrator. Kurtis, the orderly from earlier.

"Get up! Time for lunch." He growled through the glass.

"Fine, fine I'm up, I'm up." Kat sat up and rubbed her eyes before getting off the bed. "You orderlies don't have any manners do ya?" The heavily locked door was opened and Kat was led out where she met the Joker going through the same treatment. "Hey Chuckles, how has your day been?" Kat began to make small talk with one of Gotham's most feared criminals.

"I'm alright Kat and yourself," he grinned wildly as the two, along with their orderly entourages, made their way to the mess hall.

"Oh I'm grand," she smirked as she looked at the orderlies facing which were growing increasingly worried as the newest inmate was so friendly towards one of the most dangerous.

As they walked through the double doors to the mess hall the two inmates were released, "So," Kat grabbed a tray and turned to the Joker as they joined the queue of inmates lining up for food. "How does this lunch time thing work?"

"OK, well you get a tray." He waved his tray in the air. "Then you go along the queue along and get what you're given."

They moved along the line of inmates as grey porridge was slapped onto Kat's tray, "Charming," she turned her nose up at the watery mess on her tray as beside her the Joker giggled at the look on her face.

They came up on the last cafeteria attendant behind the bar, he handed over two small paper cups to the man in front of Kat. She stepped forward to look at the man, "Name?" he asked gruffly.

"What?" She replied confused.

"Name?" the attendant asked again, louder this time.

"Oh right," she cringed. "It's Katherine Tailer."

The cafeteria worker fumbled around in the box in front of him before handing Kat two small paper cups of her own.

"Hmmm pills…" she muttered to herself while she waited for the Joker. He nudged her on shoulder. "Come on Kat!" he grinned as he began to walk to a table in the corner of the mess hall. Sitting down on the hard plastic chair and quickly threw his pills down his throat and grimaced as he started to shovel the grey porridge into his mouth.

Kat looked again into the paper cup of pills. She recognised a few of them, Soma, Vicodin and Valium and then two others she didn't know. She shrugged, '_When in Rome, well Arkham.'_ Shoving the pills in her mouth she quickly gulped down the water and swallowed until the 5 pills were gone.

"Do you get uppers or downers?" The Joker spoke, his voice muffled by the food in his mouth.

"Downers, no idea why though." She giggled.

"Samers!" Joker's voice was high pitched and oddly excited. He then showed Kat a huge smile before shovelling more food in his mouth.

Kat returned the smile before gingerly picking up her spork and digging in to the grey mound of mush on the tray in front of her. Scoping up a sporkful she quickly shoved it into her mouth and swallowed before she had time to change her mind about her decision. It had almost no taste but had the texture of a biscuit after it had been dropped in a cup of tea and left there for too long.

"That's repulsive!" the complaint escaped Kat before she could hold it back.

"Well you better get used to it Kitty Kat!" Joker giggled uncontrollably at Kat's disgusted face. "That's lunch and breakfast there, for dinner it's worse."

"Worse than this?" Kat gasped, dark eyes wide as they flicked between her lunch and her friend.

Joker smile broadly and nodded as Kat dramatically dropped her spork and pretended to faint in shock, making the Joker start laughing hysterically.

Kat stood from the floor where she had landed and took a theatrical bow, "Thank you, thank you," she grinned in an upper class English tone and bent down to retrieve her eating utensil.

"Oh Kat!" the cheery voice of the Joker sounded from the other side of the metal table.

"Yes?" she replied in her naturally quirky British accent grabbing the spork and lifted her head leading her to bash it off the underside of the table and bursting into fits of giggles as she pulled herself back into her seat.

She rubbed her head as she looked in front of her to the Joker and the two orderlies standing behind him. The Joker had a large grin and was still giggling, like Kat, but the orderlies were less than amused.

"These nice gents would like to know why you were on the floor." He grinned

"Well," she giggled showing the three of them the spork in her hand. "I dropped me spork!"

The Joker burst out laughing again, as the orderlies eyed Kat and walked away. Kat gave them a cheeky grin and wiggled her fingers in goodbye.

The two friends sat laughing and eating the rest of their 'meal' while trying with great effort not to gag until Kat saw some inmates disappearing through a different set of double doors than which they had entered earlier.

"Hey Chuckles," she nodded towards the inmates going through the doors. "Where are they going?"

"Hmmm? Oh they're going to the Rec Room." He swallowed his last bite. "Come on let's go!"

Kat quickly swallowed another mouthful of slop before lifting her tray and putting it in the pile of dirty trays along with the Joker's and followed the Joker to the double doors.

The doors opened to reveal a corridor with large windows on either side of the hall. It gave a sense of openness to this hall, which was odd in a place with such high security. As she started to walk down the bright hall she glanced out the window, all she saw was a blank strip of glass and a tall wall, taller then any man in this mental hospital.

"Kat come on!" Joker nudged Kat. Without noticing she had stopped walking and started staring at the wall, "On the other side of that wall Kat is freedom, trust me I've been on the other side of that wall just laughing at the stiffs in this place. Neither man nor woman can climb it!" He laughed heartily. "But come on let's get to the Rec Room!"

He started walking again but Kat stayed and stared a little more, just long enough to she a little black cat walking along the top of the wall, she laughed to herself as she walked after the Joker, _'Maybe humans can't but cats can do it better.' _

And they walked through the small door to the Rec Room.


	8. A New Rouges Welcome

The room was bigger than Kat had expected, but just as beat up. There was a few little sofas, one in front of an old battered television, another two beside a book case. In the corner of the room near the book case there was a small table with a chess set on it and in the opposite corner there was a small radio.

The Joker suddenly sprinted off to the other side of the room and vaulted over the back of the sofa in front of the television. Slowly Kat followed, aware of the other inmates staring at her.

Leaning on the back of the sofa she looked at the television, cartoons. Kat turned to speak to the Joker but, upon seeing how transfixed he was by the images on the television screen, she though it better to leave him be.

She glanced around the room and noticed that there was a man sitting next to the Joker. She glanced over the red-haired man's shoulder to see he was holding a newspaper, opened on the daily crossword, and a pen. All the spaces of the crossword bar one.

Tapping the pen to his chin in thought Kat heard him mumble to himself, "13 across, general term for primary food source in the ocean."

"Phytoplankton," Kat said to herself, a little too loudly. The man turned to look at her.

"What?" he asked coolly.

"I said phytoplankton, it's a primary food source in the ocean isn't it, or am I mistaken." Kat replied timidly.

The man looked from the newspaper in his hand to Kat and back again until he finally replied. "It….is" he quickly filled it in and looked back at Kat. "And you are?"

"My name's Kat." She smiled at the red-head.

"I'm Edward Nigma," he smirked at her.

Kat locked thoughtful for a moment before returning the smirk, "Enigma how very clever." Smiling she turned from Edward. "I'll talk to you later Edward." She grinned over her shoulder as she walked towards the bookcase, still aware of the mad men's eyes following across the Rec Room.

Her eyes looked through the book spines that faced her until one caught her eye. "Alice in Wonderland." She smiled to herself as she pulled the book off the shelf and went to sit on the closet sofa.

As she opened the first page, the door to the Rec Room opened and Kat heard two pairs of feet make their way across the floor towards the chess set near her.

"Game of chess Jonathan?" a cheery English voice sounded somewhere near Kat.

"Must we always play chess Tetch? It's beginning to get boring." The voice that must have belonged to Jonathan moaned at the English man.

"Fine, what do you suppose we do?" Tetch replied huffily.

"Why don't we just read?" Jonathan suggested as he walked closer to Kat.

"What a grand idea!" Tetch cried happily as he himself moved closer to Kat and to the bookcase. The two stood in front of the bookcase.

Kat's eyes flicked between her book and the two men; first she saw a small blonde one with a large hat. The other man was tall, thin and had messy auburn hair.

The tall man only stood for a minute before picking up a book that Kat only saw a glimpse of the title '_Fear in the Mind.'_ The other man was a different case; he stood there, eyes scanning the book case repeatedly, his hands clenched into fists and screamed in a childish manner to the whole Rec Room, "Who took Alice?"

Kat froze, book in hand, and sank back into the sofa, not wanting to be seen, unknown to her was the fact the tall man had seen her _and _the book. He towered over Kat where she sat curled up on the seat and trying to hide her face with the book. She looked over the book to see his skinny torso, not daring to meet his eyes.

"Jervis," she heard the man say, "I think I found your thief."

Jervis hurried over to where his friend stood in front of Kat. "You stole Alice!" Jervis' voice was urgent and whiny as he looked down at Kat. The entire Rec Room now staring at them.

The words past Kat's lips before she could think twice, "The Knave of Hearts, he stole those tarts!" her voice was barely a whisper, she looked up to Jervis with frightened eyes.

"I'm sorry?" The look on Jervis' face was disbelieving to say the least.

"The Knave of Hearts, he stole those tarts! I-I-I didn't mean to take the book." She stuttered over her words, not out of fear but out of confusion at his face. Jervis and the rest of Rec Room were silent. "Sorry?" She tried to prompt a response out of the blonde man. She did the only thing that she could really think of, that didn't involving kissing or slapping, when she saw the man standing over her, frozen to the spot. She stood, "Hello?" Kat stared into the man's eyes, "Are you alright? I didn't mean to take Alice, I didn't know you wanted to read it."

She searched the man's face for any sort of response, all she found was a childish grin, one that could challenge her own, growing on his face.

"That's quiet alright my dear!" he chirruped happily. "I just thought you had taken it as a horrible joker. I didn't know you were a Carroll fan." He smile at Kat.

Kat returned the smile before the other man spoke up. "I'm sorry, but who exactly are you?"

Kat turned to him, "My name is Katherine Tailer but you two can call me Kat." She grinned, Kat saw the smallest flicker of a smile on the man's face before he turned away with his book to sit on the other side of the small sofa that Kat had been sitting on.

"I am Jervis Tetch and he," Jervis pointed to the auburn haired man on the sofa. "Is Jonathan Crane." Jonathan momentarily looked up from his book and nodded to Kat before returning to his reading.

"Alright. Well here's your Alice Jervis," she grinned and gave him the book before returning to the small bookcase and picking up a copy of 'Pollyanna' and going back again to sit beside Jonathan.

A few minutes passed before Kat heard herself being called. She looked and glanced around, seeing no one looking pointedly at her shrugged and turned back to her book.

"Hey toots!" the gruff voice called. "Cat girl!" The voice was getting closer to her. "Cat girl!" it called again, almost right beside her. "Yo!" This time the call was right in her ear.

"What?" she growled back turning to the source of the voice. Upon seeing where the voice had been coming from she gave a small terrified scream and leapt backwards and accidentally landing on Jonathan Crane.

Eyes still locked on the source of this absurd reaction, Kat subconsciously wrapped her tail and arms around the torso of Jonathan for comfort.

In front of Kat, the object which had brought on this strange reaction, was a ventriloquist dummy who was now laughing at how much he had scared Kat.

Kat looked up at Jonathan Crane and giggled faintly, "I really hate puppets." She looked into his eyes; they were green, unbelievably green, emerald green. Kat could see Jonathan's face beginning to blush and could feel her doing the same. "Sorry." She clambered backwards so that she was sitting opposite the puppet. Sitting up right like a dog she cleared her throat. "What so you want?" she glared at the puppet.

"Nothin' nothin' toots just wondering if this was you." The puppet master held up a newspaper at the dummy's command.

Quickly Kat read the headline '_Mysterious Animal Doctor off Streets Thanks to Batman' _Crouching like a cougar on the sofa arm Kat pounce over Jonathan and the sofa, snatched the paper out of the puppet master's hand before landing with a forward roll and sat up, legs crossed, to read the front page.

'_After three months of kidnapping, theft and illegal experimentation the unnamed tigress who plagued Gotham is finally off the streets thanks to the vigilante Batman. The mysterious animal doctor, now known as Katherine Tailer (27) has been moved to Arkham Asylum and will be standing trial against her crimes tomorrow morning._

_More on Page 8'_

Kat still holding the newspaper stood up and looked back to the others. Jonathan, Jervis and the ventriloquist were looking at her.

"Are you alright my dear?" Jervis asked concerned.

Kat walked back to the small sofa and flopped down again, and the looked at the photo of her below the small paragraph of writing. It was her in the middle of a theft at a jewellers wearing her tiger mask and holding a gun to someone's head while packing money and jewels into an old satchel. It had obviously been taken from the security cameras.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she looked up at Jervis. "It's a terrible photograph though." She giggled. She could still hear the soft breathing if the ventriloquist man beside her. "Scram!" she turned and yelled at the man. The man, frightened, ran as she threw the newspaper after him.

Suddenly a plague of silence befell those watching Kat scare of the ventriloquist as large newspaper hit a small flower in the corner of the room.

Quickly Kat vaulted over the arm of the sofa and ran over to the plant.

"Oh dear," she breathed softly as she pulled the newspaper off the flower to reveal that its steam had been bent and it was now drooping sadly. "Now, now no need to pout." Kat crooned to the plant as she lifted its head to straighten the stem. She had always talked to plants ever since she was young, she had learned that plants were living organisms so, like cats and dogs, maybe they had their own language that only other plants could understand and perhaps, also like animals, they could understand people. She turned to the bush next to the flower and broke off a twig just a little smaller than the dropping stem, "Terribly sorry," Kat apologised to the bush. "But it is for your little friend." She stuck the twig in beside the small plant and plucked a few of her hairs and the stem to the twig so that it stood up straight. It wasn't perfect but it would do. "There we go, all better" she smiled stroking the flowers bright blue petals.

"Thank you." A feminine voice said behind her. She stood and turned to see a pretty fiery haired woman.

"It was no problem it was my fault. Bad aim and all that." Kat grinned at the woman as she passed Kat and knelt down beside the plant and crooned over it in a maternal manner. "How is mummy's baby?" again she stood and turned to Kat. "Thank you so much." The strange woman pulled Kat into a hug. "You helped my little baby."

"Baby?" Kat was confused '_The plant was her baby?_'

"But of coarse the plants need someone to speak up for them and care for them against the cruel and heartless man." The woman explained to Kat.

"I feel the same way about animals," Kat grinned back "The speechless need someone to speak for them." Kat then thought to herself '_So _all _the plants were her babies,'_

They smiled at each other "I'm Pamela Isely but please call me Ivy."

"My name is Katherine Tailer, call me Kat. But if you would excuse me Ivy I would like to get back to my reading." Kat smiled politely.

"See you later Kat." Ivy turned back to the bush and the flower and started crooning to the plants again.

Kat turned on her heel and walked back to where Jonathan and Jervis were seated. Picking up 'Pollyanna' she had sat down and almost started reading again when Jonathan piped up, "How did you do that?" he asked.

Kat looked up from her book and noticed that both he and Jervis were looking at her. "Do what?" she replied confused for about the 7th time that day.

"Not get killed by Miss Isely?" Jervis elaborated for Kat.

"I don't know, I helped the plant and found common ground I guess." Kat shrugged.

Normally she wasn't a people person, but apparently she was an _insane _people person. Curiouser and curiouser!


	9. Justice is Blind

'_It had been an interesting first day and second morning,'_ Kat reflected to herself as the white Arkham van was driven to Gotham City District Courtrooms. _'Making friends with some of Gotham's most notorious criminals, picture and name in the paper, I could get used to this.' _She laughed. '_If it wasn't for the food I would like Arkham, unfortunately food is something that is needed._' At the mention of food Kat's stomach growled loudly as she thought about food_ 'so I guess I'll be out of their soon, no matter what the verdict is today.' _She wasn't even in the courtroom yet and she was already formulating a plan in her mind as the van stopped suddenly. They were here. _'Ok Kat,' _she began to give herself a pep talk as she moved her wrists glad that today she would be handcuff-free in public. '_Let's give them an impression that will stick, oh and don't forget a good picture.' _The double doors swung open and Kat was met with the clicking of cameras and questions being yelled at her.

"All questions will be answered after the court hearing." A very strong looking guard addressed the crowd before turning and pulling Kat out of the van. They marched up the steps leading to the courtrooms, Kat grinning at all the cameras flashing at her _'Answering questions later am I?' _she grinned to herself_. 'I'll get a good photo then.'_

The grand doors to Gotham City District Courtrooms opened to a relatively quiet lobby; she was marched into it quickly to avoid the prying eyes of the press.

They entered the lobby, followed by the press. "We're late," Kat heard one of the guards surrounding her say to another. Her eyes looked up to the large clock the hung over the lobby.

'_10 o'clock,' _she thought to herself_. 'We can't be _that_ late.' _

They continued walking until they came to another set of doors. In neat gold writing it stated what the room was. 'Courtroom 3'

'_Here we go!'_ Kat grinned to herself as the double doors were opened. Again they started walking into the room and Kat was set near the front in the defendant's seat.

Soon enough the courtroom was filled with people, witnesses, family members of those she had killed, a few of them she recognised. There was the man that she had been threatening to kill in the photo that had been in the paper yesterday, also there was a woman who was going to be a test subject and there in the back of the courtroom Kat saw an all too familiar face, it couldn't be him…not here. She wanted to get up, and scream at him but suddenly a booming voice was heard throughout the courtroom.

"All rise for the honourable Judge Claude." It said.

The rest of the people in the court stood as the Judge entered, Kat however remained seated and was oh so tempted to flick the Judge the bird' but her better judgement screamed at her to simply glare. She did just that she glared at him with a wicked smirk on her face as he took his seat. Every one else sat when the judge had taken his place. Kat was actually surprised that she had gotten away with not standing but, upon glancing around the courtroom, noticed the guards were some distance away from her.

Judge Claude banged his gavel down in front of him. "I hereby call this court to order."

One of the Courtroom guards walked up to Judge Claude and gave him a file. He spoke to the Judge but loud enough so all the people could hear. "Case 52, Doctor Katherine Tailer versus Gotham City."

Judge Claude opened the file, quickly read and then cleared his throat to speak, "Does the Defence have an opening statement?" he asked

"Yes your honour," Kat's lawyer stood. "It is quite clear from the defendant's mental evaluation, which was completed yesterday by one of Arkham's senior doctors, Dr. Tailer is clinically insane. Furthermore I highly recommend that Dr. Tailer carry out rehabilitation at Arkham Asylum." He finished his statement and picked up a file. "I would like to submit this to the court as evidence; it is the defendant's full mental evaluation."

"The evidence is accepted." Judge Claude said taking the folder. "Does the Offence have an opening statement?"

"Of coarse your honour," a young lawyer stood, Kat inhaled deeply, catching his scent. The boy was nervous, scared. "It is clear from Dr. Tailer's actions that she is nothing more than a sadistic criminal. She is not insane simply evil."

"Do you have witnesses Mr. Clarke?" Judge Claude asked.

Mr Clarke nodded. "Yes your honour."

Kat giggled to herself and leaned over to whisper in the defence attorney's ear. "You got yourself in some deep shit here mate!"

"Does the defendant understand the charges against her name?" The Judge asked Kat.

Kat grinned up at Judge Claude. "No sir, no I do not."

He glowered down at her, "Very well, 29 counts of theft, 55 counts of murder and 35 counts of illegal experimentation. Do you have any idea how serious these charges are?"

"Yes," Kat smiled.

"You may call your first witness Mr. Clarke." Judge Claude stated sharply.

"Yes your honour," Mr. Clarke stood and cleared his throat. "I call to the stand Kyle Mulligan of Mulligan's Jewellers."

'_Christ_.' Kat sighed to herself resting her head on her hand stared out the window as Kyle Mulligan took the stand.

Her tail swung lazily from side to side and her ears flicked from time to time, barely listening to the conversations. She was zoned out for most of the court case until a name snapped her back to reality.

"And finally I call David Grasswell to the stand." Mr. Clarke announced his final witness. Kat's eyes followed David as he made his way to the stand. Quickly he swore an oath on the bible. An oath that would not be honoured.

"State your name and occupation for the court records please." Mr. Clarke began.

"David Grasswell, I'm currently unoccupied." David answered.

"Now, Mr. Grasswell will you please tell us about the defendant Dr. Tailer?" Mr. Clarke asked.

"Of coarse," David stuttered. "When she first arrived in Gotham she hired me to help with her job. I had no idea what she was doing to those people, I was just helping her with her paper work, I was never allowed into her laboratory." Anger swelled inside Kat as David continued. "A few weeks ago I went to find her and caught her trying to dispose of a dead body, my immediate reaction was to call the police but she threatened to kill me and I didn't know what to do." He sobbed into his hands. Kat felt her claws grow and her canine's sharpen. This man had been her friend, her best friend, and now he was selling her up the river."

"So you see Dr. Tailer is cruel and sadistic. The witness is excused." Concluded Mr. Clarke.

"Before I pass my verdict, does he defendant have anything to say for herself?" Judge Claude looked at Kat.

Kat stood, "Why yes I do have something to say." She cleared her throat and brushed her hair out of her eye but, to her annoyance, it fell back into place over her left eye. "Fuck you!" she smiled up at the Judge and then looked around the courtroom giggling madly. "Fuck you all!" she sat back down, still laughing.

Whispers of anger and disgust rippled through the court and Kat simply turned and grinned at them all.

Judge Claude, still not quite recovered from Kat's outburst, banged his gavel on the bench, "Order in the Court! It is obvious from the Offences evidence that Dr. Katherine Tailer is an evil criminal but it is also clear from the Defence that she is in fact insane, so seeing as the defendant was brought in by Batman and not a proper figure of the law, I have no other _choice_ but to send her to Arkham Asylum to complete rehabilitation."

Shouts of outrage were thrown out from the crowd and Judge Claude banged down his gavel again. "Order!" he commanded. "I will have order in the court! My word is final, court dismissed."

Judge Claude stood and made his way out of the courtroom before Kat was taken from her seat and marched out the front doors.

Outside there was a small podium and photographers snapping for a good photo.

Kat stepped up to the podium and immediately a question was sent her way.

"Dr. Tailer! Dr. Tailer! Why did you do it?" A journalist yelled, her pen poised ready to write down what Kat replied.

"Not Dr. Tailer," Kat grinned down at the journalism. "It's The Animi." Kat turned to the cameras and grinned before speaking into the microphone again. "And I did it for the goodness of my kind. Oh! And you spell it A-N-I-M-I." She turned away from the podium and smiled at the guards. "Take me home boys."

The guards took position on either side of Kat and lead her back to the big, white van, the photographers following still.

'_OK' _Kat said to herself._ 'Time to give them a good photo.'_

Once in the van, Kat turned to the cameras, standing with her hands on her hips. Her claws were fully visible, her tail lashing, ears pricked and a cheeky smirk painted on her face.

Cameras flashed as the doors were closed. When the doors a clicked shut, Kat clasped her hands together, grinned and spoke out loud to herself, "Well that was fun!" she sat down on the hard bench as the van stuttered to life. "Home Jeeves!" she laughed and made herself comfortable, already plotting her escape from Arkham Asylum.


	10. The Kat's out of the Bag

After a rather unappetising dish of 'Fine Arkham Cuisine' the inmates had been allowed to relax in the Rec Room before being escorted back to their cells.

Before leaving the Rec Room the evening paper had arrived. Kat had quickly grabbed a copy as she was being led out with The Joker, and had hid it underneath her Arkham shirt.

As Kat was shoved into the dingy cell she waited until the heavy footsteps of the orderlies had faded before removing the newspaper from under her top.

Quickly her eyes scanned the front page and there, under the headline 'The Animi', was the photo of her standing proudly in the back of a van.

"Now that," Kat grinned as she held the photo up to the glass so The Joker could see, "Is a good photo!"

The Joker sprung up to his glass wall to see. "Looking good Kat," he winked. "What does it say?"

Kat held the paper up to read it. "Give me a minute, I really need my glasses." Kat smiled. "OK! Today one of Gotham's newest, and very dangerous, criminals, stood trial to see what her future held. It was decided that Katherine Tailer was to be sent to Arkham Asylum to carry out rehabilitation. During a press conference after the hearing Katherine Tailer announced that she would be known as The Animi. After research it was revealed that The Animi is Gaelic for The Animal. It is hoped that Gotham City will see neither tail nor whisker of The Animi again." Kat finished looking up at the Joker. "I can't believe they found out what animi meant." She laughed.

The Joker laughed with her before speaking himself, "Well Kat you've almost qualified for Group Therapy." He grinned.

"Group Therapy?" Kat asked as she sat on the bed.

"Oh yeah, Jonny, Hats, Pammy, Eddie all go as well as some others, including myself," he told her.

"And what qualifies you for it?" Kat asked already slightly regretting the question.

"Well you have to have a good gimmick," The Joker started, counting the points on his fingers. "You have to have an alias; you have to be front page news and brought in by Batsy!" The Joker smiled.

"And what else do I have to do?" Kat inquired, rather curious now.

"You have to be smart enough to get out of here," he continued. "And-"

"Stupid enough to get caught." Kat interrupted him.

"I wouldn't call it stupid," he huffed. "I would say careless."

He grinned and Kat's ears started twitching, once again the thugs known as orderlies were coming their way. "Orderlies." She told The Joker.

"Oh," he smiled. "Hello boys!" He grinned as two orderlies came up to his cell.

"6:30 Joker, time for your Group Therapy session." One of them told him as the other unlocked the heavy door.

"Speak of the Therapy Devil," she sighed to herself.

"Alrighty then!" He grinned at Kat as he was taken out of his cell. "See ya Kat!" The Joker called as he was lead away.

"Later Chuckles!" she yelled back, the cogs in her mind turning. "Much later," she added to herself quietly.


	11. The Notso Great Escape

Kat got off the bed and walked over to the glass wall that was yet to be replaced.

Her fingers traced along the cracks in the glass as a devious smile grew on her face.

"I have a splendiferous idea!" she spoke to her cracked reflection in the broken glass. She took a step back from the glass, absorbing every detail. She recalled yesterday morning, when she had lost her temper, and had found the strength to do it.

Anger made her stronger, what made her angry?

A taunting voice began to echo through her head, _her _voice.

'_He was your friend, your best friend,'_ it said quietly. "Shut up," Kat replied to it aloud and agitated. '_You're just a freak!" _it said, louder this time. "Shut up!" She yelled back. '_He's dead Kat, you couldn't save him! You weren't fast enough! You weren't smart enough! You weren't strong enough! He's dead because of you!' _it screamed. "Enough!" she growled back.

That was far enough, she was angry, furious and ashamed, all these emotions were swelling inside her ready to burst out, but she was still in control. Kat looked up at the glass, eyes ablaze. Focusing hard, she channelled her anger into making her claws and fangs sharp and making her strength grow.

Kat threw back her arms and slammed them down on the glass. The cracks grew until they were almost reaching the walls. Again she threw back her arms, prepared herself to run, and slammed her fists to the glass. It shattered beneath her hands. She had sprinted off before all the glass had hit the ground, trying to avoid it cutting her bare feet.

She burst into the lobby, seeing doctors Kat quickly rounded the corner and headed towards the Rec Room, to get to the glass corridor, to get free, she had it all worked out in her head.

She came to the Rec Room door and ran straight into it, knocking herself flat on her back.

In frustration she kicked out at the reinforced locked door.

Behind her she heard doors burst open as a siren began to scream and snitch about her escape. Immediately Kat was on her feet and ready to attack.

A trio of burly thugs ran into the corridor. The biggest one ran at her first. Kat ran at him too startling him and making him lose momentum. She then easily vaulted him, racking her claws down his face as she leapt.

Hands clutching his bleeding face, he dropped to the ground. Kat landed neatly, spun around and brought her foot crashing down onto his neck, she kept pushed down on it forcefully until a delicious crunch sounded, signalling her total victory over this one man.

But alas her victory was short live as Kat's ears swivelled on top of her head as she sensed the other to orderlies running up behind her. Again she turned quickly, long claws extended.

Catching one of them by the neck, she tore along his throat. Hot blood oozed out onto her hand, the man began to gag and collapsed onto his fellow fallen orderly.

The third had stopped, scared stiff as Kat advanced. She reached out her bloody claw and cupped the orderlies face in her hand, letting his friend's blood smear on his face and her claws dig into his cheeks, piercing the flesh.

"Now listen here boy." She growled, her voice sounding wild again. "Open this door and you night live."

The orderly stared at her with wide, frightened eyes as he fumbled for his key card. He ran over to the door and opened it for her.

He turned to face her again and she brought her claws down his cheek. He for help and Kat heard more guards and orderlies running towards where they were. She kicked this orderly in the shin, grabbed the key card and sprinted into the Rec Room.

She kept running through the Rec Room and kicked open the doors at the other side of the room.

Kat stepped into the glass corridor. The glass here was thinner that it had been in her cell, she could easily smash it. She walked up to one of the windows and struck it sharply with her elbow, it shattered under the force of the blow. Taking a few steps back from it, she ran and leaped out the window.

Landing in the barren yard, she looked up to see more guards coming up on her left and right, but dead ahead of her was her target. She would have to be fast.

Standing again she ran faster than she had before, building up to leap, like on the night she had changed.

Soon Kat was leaping up the un-climbable wall. Shouts of disbelief sounded below her as she stood at the top of the wall and looked down at the guards.

"Cheerio!" she grinned and saluted them before jumping down to the grass on the other side of the wall and making her way away from Arkham Asylum.

She ran a little way but slowed as she came upon a road. Now she was walking in the shadows beside the road. As a car past her she caught a distinct scent that reminded her of what she had promised some Arkham employees. Kat broke into a run once more after the car.

The hunt had begun.


	12. Docnapper

The car stopped in the drive of a nice house, just outside of Gotham City in a slightly rural area. The doors of the car opened and out of the car stepped two Arkham employees, Dr. Damien Logan, Katherine Tailer's doctor, and Kurtis Logan, the orderly who had rattled Katherine Tailer's cage.

They walked to the front door and entered in silence. The door had clicked shut before Kat emerged from her hiding place among the ferns.

Stealthy she herself approached the house, also in silence.

As she crouched down and crawled past the front room window her foot knocked against a stray rock. '_Hmm' _she thought pocketing the rock. '_You should come in handy' _

As she came up to the front door she grinned. Turning the door know the door slowly opened, soundlessly.

She stalked into the nicely furnished hall and sniffed the air. The scents of her soon to be victims hung in the air and mingled with the smells of cooked chicken and vegetables.

Kat followed the scents to where they were strongest. Soon enough she came to a clean white wooden door, she pulled down the brass handle and ever so slowly opened the door and slipped into the room, unnoticed. Kat then grabbed the door and slammed it so hard that even the glass on the table quivered.

Kat grinned menacingly at the Logan family before making her way around the table to sit in what she guessed was Kurtis' seat, opposite a young girl with shoulder length ginger hair.

"Hello," Kat smiled at the young girl as she tore a leg off the chicken and bit into it savagely. She savoured the food, her first _real _food in 2 days. "And what's your name love?" Kat asked the girl, swallowing her mouthful of chicken.

"I-I'm Sophie," The girl stuttered.

"Oh darling," Kat smiled sweetly. "Don't worry I'm not here for you. I'm just waiting for Kurtis."

"What are you going to do to my brother?" Sophie asked meekly.

"Well because you're a big girl, you what 12?" Kat asked, Sophie nodded. "I'll tell you the truth; I intend to give your brother what he deserves for pissing me off." She finished, taking another bite of chicken.

Her ears started swivelling again, sensing someone behind her. It was Kurtis.

Kat's eyes flicked around the table looking for a weapon. Kurtis was right behind her now, she could tell he was getting ready to strike.

Kat went on smiling and eating chicken, pretending to be oblivious to the man behind her, about to attack her.

As soon as Kat had heard the rustle of fabric, signalling that Kurtis was raising his arms to strike, her composure changed. Her smile faded and she lunged for the carving knife that lay beside the cooked chicken.

Turning around she plunged the knife into Kurtis' chest, slowly his blood seeped out of the wound and began to stain his shirt. Holding on to the knife she put her right hand on the back of his neck and pulled his head close to hers and whispered in his ear, "I always keep my promises.".

Kat laughed manically as Kurtis took his last shaky breath. Letting go of him, he dropped to the ground like a ragdoll.

His mother rushed to her son's side, as Kat stepped over his corpse, tail swinging in glee, and she removed the rock from her pocket. Dr. Logan was frozen, staring at his son, in shock and fear. Kat grinned as she walked up behind him, his daughter watching her every move with tear filled eyes.

Kat drew up her hand which gripped the rock and struck Dr. Logan over the head with it, knocking him out cold and splitting his head open. Kat pushed him to the ground and began to drag him away by his foot. The blood from his head would smeared a crimson line across the cream carpet of the dining room, as his wife and daughter wailed in dreadful harmony.

As Kat came up to the dining room door she burst into song, "I've been exiled, persecuted, left alone with no defence. When I think of what that brute did I get a little tense!" She flung open the door and continued to sing one of her favourite Disney songs as she went down the hall, only she added her own little twist. "But I dream, I dream so pretty that I don't fell so depressed, cause it sooths my inner kitty and it helps me get some rest. The sound of Kurty's dying gasp!" she laughed picking up Dr. Logan's car keys off the hall way table. "His father will soon squeal in my grasp!" she opened the door and sang loudly to the women in the dining room. "His lionesses mournful cry! That's my lullaby!"

When outside she continued the song as she dragged Dr. Logan down the path and opened the car. "Now my past I've tried forgetting and my foes I could forgive." She grunted as she loaded his unconscious body into the car and slammed the back door shut. "Trouble is I know it's petty but I hate to let them live!" She herself took the driver's seat and started the car. "Where to Logan boy?" Kat asked the body in the backseat as she reversed out of the back seat. "You don't mind?" she spoke again as if he had responded. "I knew you'd say that! I knew he'd say that!" she laughed as she sped off down the road to put her new test subject to good use.


	13. The Animi

Doctor Logan groaned as he regained consciousness. The first thing he had heard was the radio as it blared out the 6 o'clock news.

"And still at large is The Animi after her escape from Arkham Asylum. The Gotham Police Department has issued a statement saying she is armed and dangerous. Any civilian who sees The Animi is not to approach her but to contact the GCPD immediately." The announcer said.

Kat turned to Doctor Logan as he had groaned and grinned from the shadows of her laboratory. She had been sitting there for a good part of the day, reading and drinking tea.

"Dr. Tailer! What are you going to do to me?" Dr. Logan screamed as he tried to wriggle out of the heavy leather belts that bound him to the wooden chair.

"Oh stop screaming!" Kat yelled back, silencing him. "And it's The Animi, get it right! But good to see you are alive, how's your head?" she finished politely.

Dr. Logan's gaze followed the sound of Kat's voice the where she sat in the shadows. The dim light illuminated only her childish smile making her invisible bar her Cheshire cat grin.

Upon the mention of his head Dr. Logan suddenly became aware of the throbbing pain. "It feels like it has been split open." He moaned.

"Well Doc, that's because it was," she smirked, getting up from her comfortable armchair and sauntered over to the test chair. "You lost a lot of blood; I had to stitch you up. You were out for a day. Never knew a rock could do that much damage." She laughed. "But still, on to the main event!"

"What are you going to do to me!" he asked again. "Please don't kill me I have a wife, a daughter!"

"Family?" Kat looked him in the eye. "All you're worried about is your family?"

Doctor Logan nodded, tears coming to his eyes.

"I had a family once," Kat said quietly. "But few of them understood me." Guilt swelled inside her. "The only ones who thought me sane were my parents, they were very supportive, and my brother, and he died. He died because I couldn't save him."

"You blame yourself?" He sniffed, suddenly a physiatrist again.

Kat nodded sadly, "Of coarse I do, but it is none of your business." she added sharply turning sharply away from her doctor to go to her workbench. "I have an excellent idea, let's change the subject! What do you think of my new outfit Doc?" Kat twirled on the spot.

She was wearing a pair of tattered shorts on top of a pair of torn striped tights. She also wore a black tank top, fingerless gloves and Doc Martin boots.

The two most noticeable features of her outfit was her long lab coat, which had blood stains on it, and the pendant around her neck. It was a spherical orange jewel with black streaks through it, like her hair and tail.

"Admiring the Tiger Stone I see," Kat grinned as she fiddled with the chain that held it around her neck. "I stole one night with some other things to flog but I just couldn't resist keeping it."

"You still haven't answered my question…Animi." Dr. Logan said sternly. "What are you going to do with me?"

Kat advanced upon Dr. Logan, grinning like a mad man. "I intend to make you better, more evolved, like me! And if that doesn't work you'll be dead." She laughed at the look of shock on Dr. Logan's face.

Again she turned and made her way to the work bench. Looking over to the array of equipment on it she spoke to Dr. Logan, "I think that, considering the loss of blood, that it would be better to give a small dosage." Her hand hovered over a small syringe. "But better safe than sorry!" she grinned as she picked up one that was three times the size of the small syringe. Next she moved on to the small selection of altered DNA. "Let's see…wolf? No…tiger? Nope…black panther? Nah…bear? Hell no…ah! Perfect!" Kat filled the syringe with an odd looking green liquid. "You like the Rat Race right?" she turned to Doctor Lagan smiling, syringe in hand.

"Don't do this Animi!" he screamed again as she walked over to him and took hold of his bare fore arm. "You're crazy!"

"Tell me something I don't know!" she giggled at him.

"I have a family, think of my little girl!" he sobbed as Kat swabbed his arm with disinfectant.

"Family is over rated," she grinned putting down the swab.

"But an amount of chemicals that size will kill me!" he yelled again.

Kat stopped what she was doing and looked him straight in the eye. "That's kind of the idea!" she laughed again as she continued to prepare the needle.

Upon piercing the skin he screamed making Kat shriek with laughter. Injecting the green serum into his blood stream, the volume of his screaming intensified, almost drowning out the crashing of a window. Almost.

Kat dropped the empty syringe to see the caped crusader standing there.

With Dr. Logan shrieking uncontrollably behind her, Kat sighed angrily. "You again! I'm a little bust at the moment!" Kat yelled at the Batman, exasperated.


	14. Do Bats Eat Cats

"See!" Kat yelled, gesturing to the man behind her. "Busy!"

Batman stepped a little closer to Kat. "I had hopes for you Katherine, hopes you would complete your rehabilitation at Arkham." His voice was hard and cold.

"Oh please!" Kat scoffed. "And what after I'm 'cured'? They would never let me out of there; I have a tail for Christ's sake."

"We could work on an antidote Katherine, make you normal again." Batman tried reasoning with her.

"As tempting as that sounds," She moved around Batman, towards her workbench. "I'm afraid I'll have to decline your offer." Kat threw a beaker of chemicals at him.

Batman shielded his face with his long cape. When he lowered it he was faced with Kat mid-pounce, claws out stretched, fangs sharp, heading for him.

She grappled on to him, claws digging into his rubbery armour and fierce jaws trying to tear at his throat. Batman grunted in pain and threw her off, sending her crashing into the wall.

It wasn't long before Kat was on her feet again ready to attack.

"Why would I want to change Batsy?" Kat asked as she prowled in a menacing circle around him. "I'm better than ever." She looked back to Doctor Logan, who was still screaming in his chair. "Would you be quiet? I'm trying to talk here." She scolded him.

Batman took this opportunity to unclip a batarang from his utility belt and throw it at his opponent while her back was turned. She dodged it easily without even looking before turning to speak. "Is that the best you can do? Trying to take a cheap shot while a girl's back is turned? I could've heard that bat boomerang a mile off!" she growled and dived at him again.

Her claws tore through the armour that covered his chest. Again he threw her off and smirked to himself as he unclipped a second, more specified, batarang and was about to through it when Kat interrupted him from her spot on the ground.

"Wait Batsy wait! Do you hear that?" she asked excitedly. He looked at her confused and she gestured towards Dr. Logan's who was now sitting limply in the test chair. "Because I don't!" she laughed childishly.

Batman frowned as he threw the batarang in his hand, and it gave off a high pitched frequency which was only heard by animals.

"Ah!" Kat yowled, covering her ears. "Make it stop, it hurts!"

The sound rendered her as harmless as a kitten. Batman walked over and hand cuffed her to the workbench that was bolted to the ground, before turning off the batarang.

"Oh and Batsy!" Kat grinned up at him, though still in slight pain. "It's not Katherine anymore, it's the Animi" She smiled broadly as Batman grimaced and swept out of the room. "Asshole." She mumbled under her breath as police sirens squealed in the distance, getting closer.

Soon enough police officers burst into the laboratory.

"Good evening officers!" Kat smirked.

Policemen unchained her and threw her in the back of the familiar van.

As the doors shut Kat sighed to herself, "Oh well, I guess I was 'careless'." The van lurched into motion and she mumbled sarcastically, "Woo! Let's all go to Arkham!" before she yawned, it had been a long day and it was time to go 'home'.


	15. The New New Girl

The doors swung open to reveal three people, one in a white coat, giving Kat a serious case of déjà vu, except this time the doctor in the middle was a woman with dark hair and dark skin.

"Hello Dr. Tailer," the woman spoke curtly. "I am Dr. Leland, I will be your doctor for Group Therapy session and one of our new interns will be you personal doctor."

'_Well I'll be damned," _Kat laughed to herself. _'The clown was right about Group Therapy!" _

Kat was pulled out from the van and lead into the grubby lobby, Dr. Leland walking beside her.

"Your first Group Therapy session will be tomorrow evening at 6:30; you will be meeting all of the regular inmates who usually attend as they are all in at the minute." Dr. Leland told her before turning away to talk to a young blonde woman with large glasses. "Harleen Quinzel? I'm Joan Leland." Dr. Leland introduced herself, as orderlies began to march Kat away.

The last thing she heard before the large doors swung shut, was from the blond girl. "Hi Joan, call me Harley, everyone does."

'_Harley eh? Nice name.' _Kat smiled as she was marched down to the changing rooms.

"You know the drill." The orderly to her left said.

"Yeah, yeah," she sighed walking into the room and closing the door. "But just out of pure curiosity, what happens to my clothes?"

"They will be put in the asylum inmate's personal belongings locker." Came the reply.

"Alright then." She grinned as she removed the Tiger Stone from around her neck and shoved it into her pocket. While her hand was in her pocket she felt stiff plastic. Kat pulled the plastic out from her pocket and smiled like a child at Christmas when she saw what it was. The key card.

'_You might just come in handy.' _She thought. Kat placed the key card down on the bench beside the light blue Arkham uniform.

She then stripped down to her underwear before pulling on the Arkham shirt and trousers.

Quickly Kat neatly folded her clothes and shoved the key card in her pocket, before she turned and banged on the door. "Ready!" she chirruped.

The door swung open and she was pulled out sharply. As before she was lead down the corridor of cells, but this time she could hear Dr. Leland and Harley walking down the hall, a little behind her.

As she approached Cell 516 she grinned again and spoke happily. "Chuckles honey, I'm home!"

Kat's smile widened as she heard the Joker's signature laugh.

"Good to have you back Kat!" he laughed as Kat was shoved into her cell. "How'd it go?"

"Fan-bloody-tastic, let me tell you! Killed for men, physically scared one for life and mentally scared two women, one of which being a little girl." She grinned. The Joker burst out laughing until Kat heard Harley and Dr. Leland getting closer. "Shh!" She hissed. "Act natural," Kat told him as she herself lay down on her cot. The Joker leant up again a wall in his cell and started whistling.

"Oh _very _natural Chuckles!" Kat whispered making him snicker a little.

"I must admit I was surprised you wanted to intern here at Arkham." Dr. Leland's voice echoed through the Arkham halls.

"Well I've always had an attraction for extreme personalities." Harley voice was oddly excited as the two doctors walked down the cell lined hall. "They're more exciting, more challenging."

"And more high profile?" Dr. Leland pressed.

"You can't deny there is an element of glamour to these super criminals." Harley's reply was short.

Kat turned onto her side and listened intently, she liked this new girl.

"I'll warn you now, these are hard core psychotics, if you're thinking about cashing in on them by writing a tell-all book," Dr. Leland lectured Harley as Joker recovered from his snicker fit and started whistling again, distracting Harley greatly as the young blonde walked towards his cell. "Think again."

'_God Dr. Leland is being har…wait… did Chuckles just wink at Harley!' _Kat sat up on her bed, disbelieving what she had just seen.

"They'd eat a novice like you for breakfast." Dr. Leland continued.

'_How rude…did Harley just smile back and blush at the Joker's wink! What is this mad house coming too?' _Kat rubbed her eyes and sniffed the air, from the girl there was a strong scent of…curiosity?

As the two doctors walked away, Kat and Joker's eyes followed them before they looked at each other.

"Who's the newbie?" Joker asked Kat.

"Dr. Quinzel." Kat replied getting of the bed and walking over to the glass. She looked down the hall to where Harley and Dr. Leland were still walking. "I think she might be my new doctor."

The Joker walked up to his glass wall and looked down the corridor, as Kat was doing, and looked at the two doctors. "Well in that case Kat," Kat looked over to the Joker to see him staring after Harley, a sly smile painted on his face.

His laugh echoed in the halls of Arkham Asylum as Kat nodded slowly.

"What have I gotten myself into?" she mumbled.

Something told her that it involved the young Harleen Quinzel.


End file.
